Hercules Movie And Book Comparison Essay

Hercules film/book comparison Edith Hamilton’s Mythology portrays the story of Hercules with a perfect complexity that can be understood by even the simplest of minds. Of all the tales told in Greek mythology, Hercules surpasses them all as one the greatest heroes of ancient Greece. According to the novel, Hercules is a story about an exceedingly strong demi-god who accomplishes a plethora of tasks never completed by man before including, the twelve labors he must forsee to purify his soul after killing his family. The Hollywood version starring Dwayne Johnson takes the basic knowledge from Greek mythology and creates a storyline with a more realistic rendition. In the movie he is rumored to be half god and half man but, in

The movie is about a single mission completed by Hercules rather than a whole life story even though it includes background and a meaningful lesson. Perhaps the greatest difference between the Hollywood remake and the actual book is the murder of Hercules’ wife Megara and their kids. Since movies take a lot of dedication and money the screenwriters had to take the original and make it as interesting as they could. Because of this the movie’s version of their death is due to three savage wolves made to resemble the mythological character, Cerberus, Hades guard dog of the underworld while Hercules’ was drugged. In both pieces Hercules is unaware of his actions but, for different reasons. In the book he actually does kill his wife and children because he was under the magic of Hera. The book includes other accomplishments of Hercules’ life when the movie only focuses on this one part in his journey. The book also reveals his attempt at suicide and ultimate death. As previously stated, because the movie must be interesting the writers construct it so that Hercules’ can finally overcome his final deed and be set free from his haunted past when in the original story he dies and gets married for the third time to Hera’s daughter Hebe while in